Building 

refurbishment

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Introduction

 End of the service life of a building.

 Physical deterioration, building obsolescence & demand for

sustainable construction.

 Old building in Malaysia deteriorated, dilapidated, physical

quality declining & under performance.

 Late 1990’s recession - shortage & explosion in land prices.

- discouraged from buying lands & build
new building.
- forced building owner to conserve.
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 Refurbishment as an attractive option.
 alteration, retrofit, upgrading, re-styling or modifying &
extending.
 Both upwards or sideways, interior or exterior of an existing
building - to improve facilities and building lifespan.
 Full refurbishment - to change the building office to the
house.
 Conservations refurbishment work is a highly specialised area
of activity.
 Malacca and Penang (July 2008) listed by unesco as a world
heritage site.

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 Refurbishment allow the modernization of structures or incorporate new
sustainable design (environmental impact and reduce the energy use).

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Definition

Refurbishment comprises rehabilitation,

modernization, renovation, improvements, adaptation,
additions, repairs, renewal and retrofitting, that
carried out on existing buildings, however, it exclude
the maintenance routine and cleaning work
(Azlan, 2009)

The adaptation or alteration of an existing building

designed which is will improve the facilities, rearrange
internal areas and increases the structural span of a
building
(Rahmat, 2010) 5
Factors influencing the growth of refurbishment sector

1. Due to wear and tear as well as user abuse, many of them have become
dilapidated.

2. Economic recession forced both public and private organizations to conserve

their resources.

3. Deterioration of a building structure and fabric is generally associated with

one of the three causes: dampness, bio-decay and movement.

4. Office buildings built in the 1960s and 1970s generally have no provisions for
electronic equipment and communication systems.

5. Changed their organizational structure and working practices. Those changes

may require them to have open-plan office layout that gives greater
flexibility.

6. Demographic change mostly influences the demand for refurbishment of

residential properties. In Malaysia, the increasing prosperity, availability of
funds and bigger family size, encourage many house owners to extend their
houses by adding bedrooms, a study or having bigger kitchen.
Factors influencing the growth of refurbishment sector

7. Many factories and warehouses become empty whilst demands for offices
and entertainment outlets are increasing.

8. The advent of Information Communication Technology (ICT) has

changed the working environment of many people.

9. A growing environmental awareness to save natural resources through

sustainable construction.

10. The difficulty in obtaining planning approval in order to redevelop a

listed building.

11. To meet building regulations concerning access, ventilation, energy

conservation and the use of acceptable building materials, means of
escape and other fire safety regulations, many property owners built in
the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s to refurbish their buildings.
Complexity Of Refurbishment
Projects
a) Design Completeness
b) Change In Design
c) Limited Spaces
d) Difficulty Of Accesses: Implications
e) Occupied
f) Services Work
g) Structural Work
h) Availability Of Skilled Labour
i) Subcontractors
j) The Construction Industry
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a) Design completeness

Most refurbishment projects start with design not complete –

design uncertainty

Implications

‐ Interdependency between client and contractor – needs

greater client involvement
‐ Requires shorter communication time between
participants
‐ Requires quality information – needs involvement of
experienced construction firms
‐ Choose ‘integrated’ procurement system – e.g., design
and build
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b) Changes in design
 Susceptible to opportunistic behavior.
 Could be reduced by greater involvement of contractors
during design stage.

c) Limited space
• Both horizontally and vertically are common in
refurbishment projects.
• Most refurbishment projects are carried out in congested
areas – difficulty for loading and unloading.
• Constructing high cantilevered platform and, small batches
delivery of materials
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d) Difficulty of access
Most refurbishment projects are difficult to be accessed;

 For sensitive premises - need extra precautions to ensure

security.

 Comfort and efficiency of occupants could be affected – may

cause conflicts.

 Working at night causing stress on workers.

 Delivery of materials and disposal of excavated and other

waste materials may have to be done in uneconomically small
batches.

 Traffic restrictions may require deliveries to be made in the

early hours in the morning

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e) Occupied buildings
Most refurbishment projects are carried out when the buildings
are occupied.

Implications
o Obstruction to effective investigation – inform the client on
the importance of investigations.
o Investigation could cause disruption to the routine
activities of the occupants.

• The clients need to take greater role at refurbishment

projects.

• Their involvement should be properly structured and

integrated into the project management.

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e) Occupied buildings
 The project managers and lead designers should understand the
client business and requirements.

 For high degree of security involves such as bank and prison, an

authoritative representative must be involve at the earliest
stages of the project.

 Parking problems.

 The need to deal with neighbouring occupiers.

 The project manager must ensure occupants and neighbours are

consulted, informed and their concerns are being attended to.
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e) Occupied buildings
 The success of the project depends more on human
relationships rather than technical skills.

 Conducting the client’s business is always priority over

efficient building methods.

 Many non productive activities such as additional cleaning,

furniture removal, etc.

 Occupants may potentially make changes during

construction. The problem is greater in situations where
there are many users.
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f) Services work
 Project coordinator should understands the design and with M&E
knowledge.

 Continued occupancy of the building during refurbishment means

that new permanent services have to be installed in phases. This
can cause problems of coordination, control and commission.

 M& E subcontractors should be appointed at earlier stage of

project.

 Ensure the compatibility with the existing system.

 Work might be undertaken when the occupants are not present,

this option may not be feasible for hotels.
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f) Services work
 Temporary services may be needed for occupants to continue
using the building.

 Require skilled labour for cutting and carving.

 Increase communication problems.

 Bills of quantities rarely listed in detail –difficult to estimate

and plan.

 Employ site managers with specialised knowledge in services

work. 16
g) Structural work
 Use of heavy plant - sometimes not feasible.
 It could increase the difficulty of access to project sites and
reduce the amount of space available to work and store material

h) Availability of skilled labour

• The nature of work is cut and carve –typically involving the
formation of large openings in walls and floors to
accommodate new services, strengthening and replacing floors
or removal old cladding for new – difficult to plan, control and
allocating resources.

• Old histroical building –difficult to get craftsmen

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i) Number of subcontractors
 Large number of different trades specialising in
different technologies.

 Large number of people on small site and short

duration - therefore refurbishment tend to be
more intensive.

 Need to improve interpersonal and communication

skills of refurbishment managers.

 Long term relationship with subcontractors needs

to be fostered

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Refurbishment Cycle
Depends on:

 The function of the building.

 The quality of the building.

 The way in which the building is being used or abused.

 The change in statutory requirements, especially those

relating to health and safety.

 The requirements and expectations of the users or owners.

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Types of Building refurbishments
• Refurbishment work usually can be divided into 3 major
components:

– Structural elements of the buildings - beams, columns,

roof and foundation.
– Architectural elements of the building - door, windows,
staircase, wall, ceiling, floor including their finishes.
– Mechanical and electrical parts including sanitary
appliances.

 Among the most common types of refurbishment works are :

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Extension
 An extension of a space which is added to an
existing building

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Conversion
- Conversion of buildings of
extant use such as
warehouses, mills,
abandoned railway stations,
large residential properties
to new uses such as hotels,
offices, exhibition halls and
residential apartments.

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Conservation

- Thus,
conservation
work is one of
the historical
resources
medium which
keeping up the
physical
evidence for
our future
generation)

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Repair
- work to restore the performance of a building to the original
or an acceptable condition by renewing, replacing or
mending worn, damaged or deteriorated parts.

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Rehabilitation
- construction work which extends the life of a building in
order to make is habitable. It is normally associated with
housing.

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Rehabilitation
estoration
work that reinstates the structural and architectural parts of an
old building to its original design and construction.
odernization
a process of bringing a building up to a standard prescribed by its
owners and statutory requirements.
etrofitting
the work of redesigning and reconstructing the existing
building in order one to incorporate new technology in M&E
and ICT which were not foreseen in the original design.
enovation
the process of upgrading and repairing an old building
to improve the building performance, which may
include changing the function of the building, e.g.,
from residential to office.
he Advantages Of Refurbishment
he Architectural

transform into financial advantages, modern and attractive.

Many older buildings possess far greater character than their
modern counterpart, incorporating skilled craftsmanship and high-
quality natural materials in their design and construction.
Such buildings are often more attractive to project a prestigious
image to their customers which associated architecturally
attractive buildings.
Many buildings stand in areas close to other architecturally
attractive old buildings, appeal and potential value, provided that
their refurbishment maintains their architectural character and
integrity.
The Environmental

 A major concern and importance is the consumption of energy.

 Reduced energy consumption by recycle and re-use existing

resources as much as possible.

 Whenever a building is recycled by opting for refurbishment, a

considerable amount of energy is saved by avoiding the need to
extract raw materials and convert them into replacement
building.
The Social

 The refurbishment of large housing estates has important

sociological advantages.

 The creation of new communities has since been recognized as

a complex process.

 the refurbishment of existing housing, by preserving

established, stable communities is therefore considered
preferable to the alternative of wholesale clearance and new
development.
The Economic

 The cost of refurbish and re-using an existing building is

generally considerable less.

 However, it also has a considerable bearing on the costs of

refurbishment because of the conflict between the existing and
proposed new used. The necessary adjustment may be very
costly.

 It will be cheaper when a suitable building is selected which is

in a reasonable physical condition and which does not require
excessive structural alterations.